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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29943156">Flowers, vampires and the unknown</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ckanon/pseuds/Ckanon'>Ckanon</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Hetalia: Axis Powers</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Elves, Fantasy, First Meetings, Fluff, How Do I Tag, M/M, Magic, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Vampires, angst in later chapters</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-03-09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-03-09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-15 23:48:54</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,007</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29943156</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ckanon/pseuds/Ckanon</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>'Ivan should have taken more precautions. The weather forecast was never one hundred per cent after all.'</p>
<p>Where Vampire! Ivan meets a peculiar man in a flower shop.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>England/Russia (Hetalia)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>18</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Flowers, vampires and the unknown</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>https://cryingka.tumblr.com/post/645198363849064448/flowers-vampires-and-the-unknown-1</p>
<p>Art for this au on tumblr</p>
<p>Also on instagram @cryingka</p>
<p>I haven't written a completed chapter of a fic or oneshot in a year and thanks a lot to all my friends who I pestered for feedback on this one, this would have been so much worse without your input.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Ivan should have taken more precautions. The weather forecast was never one hundred per cent after all.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Waucaster was a dull and quiet place, but Ivan considered it his home</span>
  <b>. </b>
  <span>While many nocturnal races had come to reside there, the town's work still happened during the day</span>
  <span>. Very few nightly options had become open only to more 'pure blooded' vampires. Thanks to their bodies being more magic than flesh, they couldn't be exposed to the sun under any circumstance. Ivan was fortunate to have his sunburns be manageable. Though considering how the constantly overcast seaside town hardly knew the sun with how rarely it peeked through the blanket of clouds. Ivan hardly even needed to waste time applying the irritating protective cream or overdress even during the summer. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
<p>
  <span>One rainy day in the middle of the week, he wandered down an unexplored side of the town. Work was particularly slow today and he wanted to get lost in his thoughts. The sun had yet to set and the streets were still lit by its dulled-out glow. He walked past the local's shops, down the tiled terraces leading closer to the shore, and through the narrow roads. The town was nestled close to the sea and benefited from clean and fresh air. The stone and wood homes perched along the edges of small hills with pointed roofs and smoke billowing from its chimneys. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Things were quieter now. After ambitious inhabitants rushed to the capital, the towns once impressive numbers dwindled. This, however, opened the door for Ivan to move there and it'd become nothing short of a paradise land. If only the townsfolk would warm up to him. </span>
  <span>People in small towns were meant to be like a large family, were they not? For now, though, Ivan was content with simply existing alongside them, as much as their fear discouraged him.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Ivan soon realised he could no longer hear the soft pattering of the rain and he looked up to see the heavy layer of clouds had thinned out significantly. Sun visible as the light fought through. Ivan stuffed his hands into his pockets as he took off, if he was lucky he would get to a darker street to call for a cab before he got hurt. The vampire hadn’t dressed for the sun at all and while his long black hooded raincoat would provide him with some protection it wasn’t adequate for the long way Ivan still had to travel to get back to his apartment. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>No. There wasn’t enough time, Ivan had to get inside </span>
  <em>
    <span>now</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>        In a panic, Ivan ran to the nearest shop for shelter from the sun.</span>
  <span> The burn spread quickly over the back of his hand as he exposed it to the light as he pushed down the door handle. Adrenaline racing through his body, Ivan slammed the door behind himself, the bell attached to the entrance fell with a metallic bang. The bell released a few rings while bouncing off on the floor, loud enough to cause the vampire to wince. Ivan reached for it with his uninjured hand but was interrupted. A man, appearing to be the store clerk dressed in a plain green shirt, sleeves rolled up to his elbows and jeans along with a brown apron, rushed in from a back room. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>"What the hell is going on in here?!" He shouted.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span> Ivan froze momentarily to look up at the man, who flinched and took a step back as soon as Ivans glowing purple eyes met his forest green ones. </span>
  <span>The silence that stretched out between them allowed him to take in the atmosphere of the shop. </span>
  <span>The store had a homey feel, characteristic of other places in Waucaster. The walls were a warm cream, and parquet floors were taken up by a vast sea of colourful flowers</span>
  <span>. But the store didn't catch his interest as much as the clerk had arrested his attention</span>
  <span>.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span> He could feel the nervousness quite literally pulse through the smaller male, who appeared to be the stereotypical image of a simple elf, with his tousled blond hair, long ears and pale skin. However, Ivan could sense that he was cold-blooded which fed his growing curiosity. His first thought was that the man was a snow elf, but the vibrant green of his eyes and a light dusting of barely-there freckles over his nose and cheeks said otherwise. Maybe the man was reptilian? That didn’t make much sense either since his ears would have scales too. Merfolk or siren? No, no way one would be working on the surface when Waucaster had a large underwater district so close by… most likely a rare halfling of some sort then. Ivan filed that thought away to ask later, though he would most likely never get the chance to. Not with how asking someone to explain their species was a taboo in northwest Eúropa. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
<p>
  <span> An awkward smile tugged at his lips showing his large fangs. The clerk's heartbeat quickened again. How cute, he thought to himself. After picking up the ruined bell, careful not to brush his injured hand against his surroundings, he stood up and approached the elf. Ivan towered over him. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>"Sorry about that." Ivan apologised. Nervousness made his Slavyansk accent more pronounced.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The store clerk didn't respond, instead scanning over Ivan as if to reassess how much of a threat he was. The elf's eyes narrowed in suspicion then widened as soon as his gaze locked onto Ivan’s right hand which was still developing blisters. His head snapped back to Ivan's face. He seemed to finally put two and two together. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh gods, I'm so sorry! Come with me.” The man returned inside the backroom, and Ivan followed him after a second to process the switch from defensiveness to concern. Gods he said… Ivan mused, definitely not a siren or snow elf then.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The backroom appeared to be a space for race-specific plants; it would be a hazard to keep in the store's main room with things such as Fairymoss, Wolfberries, and Rouges Ivy. Though there were many many more that Ivan had never seen before. Ivan looked around with a childish excitement quickly taking over, most plants here were bioluminescent and their glow was mesmerising in the dim light of the back room, the only row of windows being covered with blinds by the clerk as he went ahead of Ivan. Then, he caught a particular smell coming from somewhere farther in. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>They had Demons Raindrops! </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Ivan had only seen it himself a couple of times as a child when he was given small amounts of the berry's tiny bulbs as a gift. They were imbued with dark energy and contained healing properties for various demons, as the name suggested. Where Ivan was from, they were the generic gift people would give different demon races if they didn't know the person well. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span> However, in Britannia, Demon Raindrops were extremely rare due to the lack of demons living there. The energy that came off the berries in waves posed too much danger to most fae, elves, humans, and even manaless species. In this part of the continent, they were nothing more than weeds.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Ivan followed the elf as they ventured further into the room. In his peripheral vision, he could see a table with various tools littering the surface of it, Ivan left the destroyed bell on the edge of it as they passed it. The way the rows of plants were organised made the room appear as some kind of maze, with the two having to weave in between the pots and vases. The tight space made the plants hard to avoid touching, especially with how some of the foliage spilt from their containers and onto the tile floor.  With the way the smaller male carried himself, Ivan had begun to wonder if he owned the place. Unlike the nimble elf, Ivan was much broader in his frame thanks in part to his inborn superstrength. The vampire looped the length of his very long scarf around his neck a couple more times so that there was no chance it would get caught on a wayward branch or thorn. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Thankfully they didn't have to walk much longer as they stopped a few meters in front of a shelf. The space was taken up by a wide plant pot that held several scrubs of Demons Raindrops. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I can’t approach those bloody things without getting a headache, can you pick them yourself?” The smaller man turned to Ivan, his shoulders still looked tense, but he was clearly trying to come off as polite. Most likely because in his eyes, Ivan was a customer now. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Certainly. How much do they cost, Mr…?” Ivan trailed off expectantly with a tilt of his head.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh dear, where are my manners? I’m Arthur Kirkland, owner of this shop.” He laughed awkwardly, bringing his right hand up to offer a handshake. He quickly realised his mistake and put out his left instead with a mutter, “Sorry”.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Ivan Vladimirovich Braginskiy.” The vampire shook Arthur’s hand. Cold, but not much colder than his own. The difference between their skin tones made Ivans look almost like paper with the dark energy that stained the tips of his fingers by his filed down claws resembling blotches of ink. Realising he was probably holding on a bit too long, Ivan pulled away with a soft giggle. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Arthur coughed to clear his throat before speaking again. “Well, the cost of the Demons Raindrops will depend on how many you need to heal your hand. I’m no expert on their healing properties, I only know that they can so I’ll leave it up to you, but you better be able to pay for it if you need a lot.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I won’t need too many. I assure you,” Ivan said as he took a few strides to stand in front of the bushes. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Demons Raindrops, although they were a magic fruit that could grow all year round, favoured the Fall and ripened rapidly around Hallows Eve. This early in the month of Hretha, however, there weren’t that many raindrops that were ready to be picked. Luckily Ivan didn’t need any more than half a dozen anyway. He picked four and threw them in his mouth, the energy buzzed pleasantly throughout his body and then flowed into his injured hand.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span> The vampire turned slightly to face Arthur, who appeared to have moved closer so he could see how many Raindrops Ivan would take. Ivan brought his injured hand up, closing it into a fist and then spreading his fingers a couple of times as his skin pulled itself back together. There were still a few small burn marks left, but they would be easy to ignore so Ivan didn’t bother picking another.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“See good as new.” Ivans smile widened, he felt it show in his eyes as he tore his gaze from his hand back to Arthur. The elf was staring at his hand with a mixture of awe and horror. Oh yeah right, Ivan had forgotten that to the ‘living’ the sight of demons high-speed regeneration looked disturbing. Before Ivan could apologise for the sight Arthur spoke up again.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I’ve heard of how effective Raindrops are at healing, but I didn’t think they were this good.” Another nervous laugh, Ivan thought the unbothered facade was quite amusing. Arthur continued, his tone shifting from an attempt to sound casual to a more serious business tone. “If those were all you needed to heal then it doesn’t matter, consider it a favour.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Really?” Ivans face lit up. “Thank you. You’re too kind.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Though Arthur's cheeks reddened slightly, his expression remained. "I still expect you to come back and replace the bell. You better fix it yourself or pay someone else to fix it." His eyes narrowed in a glare, but he didn't seem upset, "And I expect you to arrive with it by the full moon."</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Laughing, Ivan held out his hand to Arthur once more. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s a deal then.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Note: The month of Hretha is March in old English.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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